1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to an accumulator dehydrator assembly for use in a refrigeration cycle of an air conditioning system of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various accumulator dehydrator assemblies for use in air conditioning systems of vehicles are known in the art. These assemblies have an inner housing for separating a liquid component from a vapor component of a refrigerant and an outer shell surrounding the inner housing. The outer shell is disposed around and spaced from the outer shell to define a chamber therebetween. The chamber provides an insulating layer to insulate the inner housing.
One such assembly, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,790, discloses an accumulator dehydrator assembly having an inner housing and an outer shell. The inner housing and the outer shell define a chamber therebetween. The outer shell is secured in place by a cap that engages inlets extending into the inner housing. However, the ""790 patent does not disclose spacers between the inner housing and the outer shell to secure the outer shell onto the inner housing and to establish the chamber defining a predetermined distance between the inner housing and the outer shell.
Another such assembly, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,618, discloses a cylindrical sleeve mounted around an inner housing. The cylindrical sleeve has a corrugated surface for contacting the inner housing to define air pockets between the corrugations. The cylindrical sleeve is open at both ends and has a mounting bracket for engaging an engine compartment of the vehicle to secure the outer shell about the inner housing. Yet another assembly, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,378,327, discloses an accumulator insulator bracket having an inner housing and an outer shell. The outer shell is formed from two halves that are connected together to secure the inner housing within the outer shell. The outer shell has air flow directing ribs for directing the flow of air along the length of the inner housing. However, neither the ""618 nor the ""327 patent disclose spacers positioned between the inner housing and the outer shell being compressible for securing the outer shell onto the inner housing and establishing the chamber having a predetermined distance.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide an outer shell that mounts to the accumulator dehydrator inner housing without connecting to the vehicle and that improves the efficiency of the air conditioning system. It would also be advantageous to provide the spacer to establish a predetermined distance between the inner housing and the outer shell to insulate the inner housing.
The subject invention provides an accumulator dehydrator assembly for use in a refrigeration cycle of an air conditioning system of a vehicle. The assembly includes an inner housing for separating a liquid component from a vapor component of a refrigerant and an integral outer shell being cup shaped and having a bottom and side walls extending upwardly from the bottom to an upper edge defining an opening. The inner housing is disposed within and spaced from the outer shell to define a chamber therebetween. The assembly includes at least one spacer positioned between the inner housing and the outer shell and positioned annularly around the side walls and being compressed for holding the outer shell onto the inner housing.
The subject invention further provides a method of improving an efficiency of the air conditioning system of the vehicle. The system includes the accumulator dehydrator assembly having the inner housing for separating the liquid component from the vapor component of the refrigerant and the outer shell spaced from one another by the spacer and defining the chamber having the predetermined distance therebetween. The method includes the steps of disposing the inner housing within the outer shell, positioning the spacer between the inner housing and the outer shell, and establishing the chamber between the inner housing and the outer shell. The method includes compressing the spacers between the inner housing and the outer shell to hold the outer shell onto the inner housing.
The subject invention provides an accumulator dehydrator assembly having the outer shell that mounts to the inner housing without connecting to the vehicle and improves the efficiency of the air conditioning system. The subject invention also provides the spacer being compressible and positioned between the inner housing and the outer shell for holding the outer shell onto the inner housing and establishing the chamber having the predetermined distance between the inner housing and the outer shell to improve the efficiency of the air conditioning system.